58% of adults 55+ are actively being treated for high blood pressure (Hypertension). It is by far the most common chronic condition amongst seniors in the United States. It is also by far one of the most dangerous. Several of the top 10 leading causes of death amongst seniors are entirely or partially attributable to uncontrolled high blood pressure. Issues like Heart Disease, Stroke, Kidney Disease, Vision Loss, CAD, and PAD are all directly attributable to hypertension. The good news is that high blood pressure is controllable, and your risk of developing major conditions can be reduced drastically with some simple lifestyle changes.
Impairments Related to High Blood Pressure
Heart Disease; which includes heart failure, heart arrhythmia, and heart attack, is defined by your heart beating ineffectively, causing impaired circulation. Essentially, the higher your blood pressure is, the harder your heart has to work to effectively pump blood throughout your body. Sustained high blood pressure puts your heart through such significant pressure that it often begins presenting symptoms that are irreversible if ignored. More Americans, specifically seniors, die from Heart Disease and related symptoms annually than any other cause of death.
Stroke, the fourth-leading cause of death for seniors in America is next on the list of avoidable issues that controlling hypertension can help you to avoid. High blood pressure damages arteries throughout the entire body, not just the heart. The constant force being placed on your circulatory systems walls eventually creates conditions where your arteries can easily burst or clog. In the case of Stroke, weakened arteries in the brain, one of your bodies highest blood density organs, clog more easily than in many other areas of the body.
Kidney Disease the ninth leading cause of death, affecting 18% of all American seniors is also heavily reliant on elevated blood pressure levels. Your circulatory system and kidneys rely on one another for overall good health. Your kidneys are surrounded with a dense network of blood vessels. These blood vessels supply your kidneys nephrons with a continuous flow of blood both in, for filtration, and out, to return to general body circulation. Arteries damaged through high blood pressure cause the kidneys to have greatly, or completely diminished filtration ability. This can lead to your body having serious issues regulating fluid, hormones, acids, and salts in your blood. Healthy kidneys also produce a hormone called aldosterone, this hormone is how your body naturally regulates blood pressure. Damaged kidneys have more issues regulating blood pressure, and unregulated blood pressure causes more damage to the kidneys, resulting in a negative spiral that is difficult to pull out of.
High blood pressure can also lead to vision loss, which while difficult to quantify, affects a large group of the senior population. Retinopathy, or blood vessel damage in the eye, is caused by hypertension. It can lead to blurred vision or…
This article was sourced from Abacus Life.